The WVU Higher Education in Prison Initiative (HEPI), led by Katy Ryan (WVU English Department), was awarded a subgrant of $30,000 from the Pennsylvania Consortium for Higher Education in Prison.
This funding will assist HEPI in strengthening the associate degree program, admitting a second cohort of students, and providing reentry support.
The WVU Higher Education in Prison Initiative builds educational programs on campus, in prisons, and in our community that matter — spaces for research, creativity, growth, and radical healing.
HEPI coordinates an associate degree program at SCI Greene, a maximum-security prison in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. The degree program has a liberal arts core and a strong commitment to the humanities. Since 2022, students have taken WVU courses in World Culture and Literature, English, Writing, and History. Classes have generated poetry slams, open-mics, performances, zines, and visual art.
In 2023, an Eberly Arts and Sciences experiential learning course invited students to propose new programming at the prison, leading to the creation of a peer-run Writing Studio, Book Clubs that rotate through the tiers, an 8-week authentic peer mentoring program, and creative writing classes. Students’ artwork and writing appear in the collection, This Book is Free and Yours to Keep: Notes from the Appalachian Prison Book Project (WVU Press, 2024).
“The Power of We” by Elise Zukowski, WVU English, MFA 2025.